成员简介

辛西娅·C. Calhoun serves as the deputy director of the 安全 and Mission Assurance Directorate at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, 俄亥俄州.  在这个角色中, she shares in the responsibility of ensuring a safe and healthy work environment for the Glenn community and contributing to the success of NASA programs and projects by providing technical excellence in mission assurance engineering, 操作安全, 职业健康.

在此之前, Calhoun was the deputy chief of the Program and Project Assurance Division where she was responsible for assuring NASA aerospace and aeronautics systems were of high 质量 and operated safely and overseeing the division’s staff of civil servant and contractor employees. She became the Assurance and Risk Management branch chief in 2006, managing a staff that provided system safety, 质量, 可靠性, 材料和工艺, 风险管理, 软件保证, 经验教训, and mission assurance support for aerospace and aeronautics programs and projects throughout the lifecycle.

Calhoun joined Glenn in 2002 as the 软件保证 and 风险管理 lead for aeronautics and aerospace programs and projects. This included serving as the NASA certified 风险管理 trainer for a team of risk facilitators and leading the development of the agency Risk Management Implementation Tool. 在两个领先位置, 她在代理机构任职, 跨部门, and other national committees as an adviser and consultant in 软件保证 and 风险管理.

Calhoun began working for NASA in 1996 as an engineering project manager at the NASA Software Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, managing agency and 跨部门 IV&V and independent assessment projects, and agency 软件保证 research projects, and serving as the 软件保证 lead for the NASA Office of 安全 and Mission Assurance compliance verification audit team. 

Calhoun started her federal career in 1988 as an electronics engineer with the U.S. Air Force at the Aerospace Guidance and Metrology Center, Newark Air Force Base in Heath, 俄亥俄州 where she designed and developed hardware and software for Automatic Test Systems (ATS) that were used to perform diagnostic tests on electronic assemblies and subassemblies from military aircraft and missile subsystems. She also led the Software Engineering Process Group. In 1994, she transferred to the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, 凯利空军基地, where she managed ATS cutting-edge advanced diagnostic and technology insertion projects for the Air Force and worked closely with her Army, 海军, and Marine counterparts on ATS technology developments.

Calhoun received her Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering from newbb电子平台 (OU), and she is a Duquesne University alumna of the Master of Science in Information Systems Management program. She is also a graduate of the Air Force Institute of Technology Software Engineering Professional Development Program.

Calhoun is a former member of the OU Alumni Association board of directors and currently a member of the OU Foundation board of trustees and OU Russ College of Engineering and Technology board of visitors. She holds professional memberships in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics where she serves on the Diversity Working Group. Calhoun has authored and presented numerous technical publications throughout her career, which included receiving the “Best in Track” paper at the Information Assurance: Risk, 安全, 和担保, U.S. Department of Energy Software Quality Forum.  She is a member of the Kids in Flight board of directors, an advisor to the International Women’s Air and Space Museum, and a founding member and head mentor for the Greater Cleveland Indeed We Code computer programming camp for girls.

Calhoun has received numerous NASA awards such as the Federal Women’s Program Award; NASA Diversity Leadership Award; NASA Group Achievement Honor Award; NASA Mission Manager’s Flight Commendation; NASA Exceptional Service Medal for Software Engineering; NASA EEO Medal for STEM Outreach; and NASA Administrator’s Gears of Government Initiative Award, the highest award presented in NASA. She also received the National Women of Color STEM Conference Career Achievement Award and the OU Women’s Center Outstanding Alumnae Award.